The Angels Ruined Their Future by Not Trading Shohei Ohtani

Julian Martinez: [00:00:05] All right. We're going to start things off by talking about the team that puts the L in MLB history, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a team that has not won a single game since the MLB trade deadline. When they decided not to trade Shohei Ohtani instead to be buyers. The trade for Lucas Giolito, Randall Grichuk and C.J. Cron. And yet here we are. Is this the biggest disaster of a team not selling at the deadline in MLB history? [00:00:34][29.0]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:00:35] In MLB history? Okay, that's an interesting one. I can't think of a close second right now, but again, that's there's a lot of MLB history to work through. I remember. Gosh, I want to say it was the Cardinals in 2015 who traded at the deadline and then ended up falling back to a wild card spot. Maybe I'm thinking of the wrong year, but I mean, there's a couple of bad ones in there. The Angels. This is what I said when the trade deadline happened. Okay. There are four really good teams in the American League right now. We talked a little bit about this in a previous video talking about the Max Scherzer trade. It is Tampa Bay, it is Baltimore, it is Houston and Texas. All are four very good teams. All four have not separated themselves from the pack this year. Texas and Houston are basically just doing a Spider-Man meme of each other. Those teams are basically constructed exactly the same way. And so those four teams all made the exact same trade at the trade deadline. They all traded for a number two starter. Every single team the Orioles traded for Jack Flaherty, Tampa traded for Aaron Civale, Texas traded for Max Scherzer, Houston traded for Justin Verlander. All made the exact same trade, none of them separating themselves from the pack, but they're hoping they will when the playoffs are all around. And the Angels wanted to be that fifth team. They wanted to be that fifth team to get in the game because they traded for a number two starter in Lucas Giolito. They traded for three hitters in their lineup and it has all crapped out. But the thing I said at the trade deadline is if the Angels do make the playoffs because at the time they were only three games out of the wildcard, if they make the playoffs, they will have just as good of a chance as any of those teams because it means that from June onward the Angels will have played as good of baseball as each of those three teams. And since I said that they have gone 0-5 and are now, I believe, six games out of the American League wildcard. So yeah, they have crapped the bed. And Shohei Ohtani is literally crying on the bench at the sight of what the angels have become. [00:02:32][117.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:02:33] You are correct. As of today, the angels are six games out of the wildcard. Now I think we all kind of recognize it was a ballsy decision by them either way to keep him, to not move him, not to try and get some sort of value for Shohei Ohtani. And I think what makes this one a tough non trade in hindsight is knowing even if you would have got similar value because you're never going to get similar value to what Shohei Ohtani is. I mean, let's face it, like the amount of war this guy puts in alone just based off his ability to hit and pitch. It's something that any other MLB player just can't even match. However, you would have got something you at least got a team's first, second, third prospect potentially, even if it's just a rental. There was a lot of desperate teams at the deadline that would have tried to make this work at the Angels would have been a little bit more open to the possibility. Like we've seen a lot of trades come together in the 11th Hour and the Angels, I think it was like two days before the deadline actually made the statement that they weren't going to trade him. So they put their foot down on the no trading pretty quickly. And with that door closed, like other MLB teams just said. Okay, well, I guess we have to pivot to our second or third trade options since Shohei is not available like a team like the Yankees just decided to stay quiet at the deadline because they felt like there wasn't any premier bats, which Shohei would have been. He would have been that premiere bat in addition to being at least a team's third starter at worst. [00:04:04][90.6]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:04:04] I mean, he was an all star starting pitcher this year. So I mean, the problem, his health with his pitching, right? He has a blister on his hand or he has an elbow issue. It's not that his abilities, it's just his ability to stay healthy while pitching. And to your point about the trade and the Angels deciding a full week before the trade deadline, because remember, the trade deadline was on Tuesday, August 1st. They traded for Lucas Giolito. I want to say like Monday, July 25th, like they were a full week ahead of the pack in terms of making the trade deadline deal and pulling Shohei Ohtani off the market. So my thought on that was that I was kind of seeing it both ways, like I could defend the Angels going all in and trying to actually buy for one strong Shohei Ohtani tenure with the Angels. This is the first time they've been buyers since Ohtani has been on the team. So I could defend that and I could also defend trading him away. [00:04:56][52.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:04:57] I did see the growing sentiment that Shohei Ohtani may be open to the possibility of resigning with the Angels. So I get. Kind of that them wanting to show that they're trying to do something over there by getting pieces again, Cron, Grichuk and Giolito respectively, then being buyers at the deadline to make one final push to say, Hey, Shohei, we think we can get you to win here. But this is the opposite effect. This is like, okay, we're going to make all these trades and we're going to be worse after the deadline. Like, 0-6 like, I'm not surprised a lot by what the angels do because again, we saw another fantastic performance by Shohei the other day where he has a stolen base, reaches base four times, hits his 40th home run of the season, and they still lose that game because their closer gives up a grand slam in the ninth inning. That's kind of stuff that's very par for the course when I think about the Los Angeles Angels. However, like I do sympathize with them being in the unenviable position of having to trade away potentially the greatest player of all time. You think about, like what we think about Boston. Like when they had to trade away Babe Ruth, right? People still talk about the curse of the Bambino to this day. That's kind of like the position they found themselves in. However, when you consider you have to get something, if he just walks and, especially if he just goes down the street to go play with the Dodgers, then you of course, the Moreno's already don't have a great reputation, but you get got nothing for Shohei Ohtani and you didn't make the playoffs once in his tenure. Again, I've mentioned it before, baseball hell. This just feels way worse than even like the pirates. [00:06:31][94.5]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:06:32] Yeah, I don't think losing out on your I think they traded their number seven. Their number ten. A couple other smaller prospects to try and buy at the deadline. I don't think that's going to be the difference between the angels turning a corner versus where they are now. Look, they're going to suck when Ohtani leaves. They suck when Ohtani was there. So they're going to suck when Ohtani leaves. That's just that's that's part of the equation for the angels. So I guess I understand that part of it. But you're absolutely right about the trade part. And I'm not the biggest fan of Jared Carrabba's, but he made a great point, which is basically like the team that you trade Shohei Ohtani to is likely the team that he will go into the Hall of Fame with their logo on his hat. Right. So that's a really difficult position to find yourself in if your entire reputation as a general manager is going to be based on this one trade, it's going to be this one moment and what you do with this player. And while I understand that they would have liked to have had a couple top prospects in trading, Ohtani and hell, they even dipped into their already not great farm system and got rid of a couple players to trade for two years of giolito and one month of C.J. Cron. That looks like it's not going to matter anymore because they're going to miss the playoffs. But going through all of that isn't going to be the difference between turning a corner a year faster, a year slower, like the Angels are fundamentally going to have to reset everything if they're going to try and build this thing back up because you can't even make it with Ohtani. What's going to happen when you subtract Ohtani from the team? [00:08:03][91.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:04] You have to think that they had a positive report from like Mike Trout come before the deadline, like they thought that they were going to get him back a lot sooner than he's actually going to come back, because that's the only thing I can think that could really justify them being so overzealous and being buyers at the deadline relative to even other teams. You know, like if you look at who made the most moves at the deadline, like the Angels are actually up there at the top making buying decisions. [00:08:27][23.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:28] They bought the same way that Tampa and Houston and Texas bought at the deadline. That's basically what they did. They're like, we are as close to winning a championship as these teams. Therefore, we're going to make trades like we are one of these teams. [00:08:40][11.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:41] And I almost feel like it's going to be poetic justice that you mentioned trading away your eighth prospect in the system. Watch. They're going to go on to have fantastic careers. I'm just going to call it right now. [00:08:49][8.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:08:49] Yeah, I'm looking at you. Ky Bush You're going to be a future superstar for the White Sox. Ky Bush. [00:08:54][4.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:08:54] It just going to be getting out of that angel system, getting out of that Angels farm system and suddenly they're going to be studs. It just amazes me how a team can be so inept at talent evaluation. The fact that like their minor league system for the most part has never really helped their organization again. Aside from Mike Trout. [00:09:11][16.4]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:09:12] They hit one player, even Joe Adell, Who is this top prospect that everyone's saying, Oh, he's going to come in and be an impact player, Even he's bounced between triple-A in the majors for the past few years. So I don't know that part. In terms of the six game losing streak, like I went back and looked at the schedule, there's no shame in losing two games to the Atlanta Braves. It happens. They're the best team in baseball. They might win 110 games. It's getting swept by the Mariners that it really sucks like y'all got mariners. But the Mariners who suck. [00:09:42][30.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:09:43] That suck and were trading away at the deadline, they want to be traded away. Their closer at the deadline. [00:09:48][5.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:09:49] And I'm looking at their upcoming schedule. They play three at home against the Giants, which, you know, they're a playoff team, 60 wins. The Giants are currently in the playoffs, three at Houston, three at Texas, three at home against Tampa Bay A. Three at home against Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds. [00:10:07][17.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:07] So what you're saying. So what you're saying here, because obviously there are a six games out of the wildcard. They're done. They're cooked. [00:10:14][6.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:14] They're going to need a couple. [00:10:15][1.0]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:16] Other. [00:10:16][0.0]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:16] Guys in there. [00:10:17][0.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:10:18] That's a gantlet right there. You mentioning the schedule like because I've heard a couple of like, schedule heads talk about it, too. It is one of the toughest, actually, the MLB schedules upcoming this next month. [00:10:27][9.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:10:27] Yeah. They are in a place where they need a sweep against Houston or at least two out of three. They're going to need to take two out of three against Texas. They're going to need to take two out of three against Tampa. Like they're in a position where these are the teams you wanted to compete against in the playoffs. Right. Houston, Texas, Tampa. And they do play Baltimore later on in September. Those are the four teams you're chasing in the American League. Those are the four teams that have a chance of making it to the World Series. You're going to have to beat those teams just to even have a puncher's chance, because looking at the standings, this is the other thing that's difficult to think about when you're thinking about trying to catch teams by, say, five games or six games. The teams that they have to jump right now are Toronto, Seattle, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. They have to jump all of those teams in order to get there. So, yeah, they might be six games back, but they're also five teams back of making it to the playoffs in the American League. So I think that the Angels are in trouble. But if they do make the playoffs, they will be one of the World Series favorites because it means that they will get the sixth seed. They get to play whichever crappy team makes it out of the American League Central, and then they will be on the hottest stretch of any team in baseball. That will get them a matchup against the Baltimore Orioles in the divisional series. But yeah, they're probably done. I don't think they're going to be able to beat Houston, Texas and Tampa Bay. Eight out of nine times. I just I don't think that's going to happen for the Angels. If if anything of the last ten years of angels. Baseball is an indicator, it's probably not going to happen. [00:12:09][101.2]
Julian Martinez: [00:12:09] Okay. So, you know, we came at this from the playoff angle from the World Series contender angle. Let's talk about it just from the pure historical angle of Shohei Ohtani season. So I also will understand from the Angels decision to not trade from the aspect that you really want him to potentially hit 60 home runs, not for your team. So that's one aspect I can kind of understand because a bare minimum, if Angels fans can't get excited about making a playoff push for the next two months, then at least maybe they can get excited about Shohei potentially setting the AL home run record. Obviously, he's not going to touch Bonds, but he's still 23 away from passing Aaron Judge, what he did just literally a year ago, I guess at least, is that something to look forward to? Potentially. [00:12:57][47.7]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:12:58] Of course. But Angels fans are used to not having teams that are competing for the playoffs. They're used to having giant statistical records be the marker. If I'm counting correctly, I believe in this stretch of what is it now, this is the ninth year in a row. The Angels aren't going to make the playoffs because 2014 was the last time they made it. I believe in nine years they're going to have five American League MVP's because Trout won three and Ohtani is going to win his second this year. That's five of the nine American League MVP's are going to be playing for their team, which that's really exciting. It's fun to watch. I would buy tickets to go watch the Angels play baseball. Yeah, just make it make sense. Interesting. [00:13:37][38.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:13:38] Make it make sense, Kyle. [00:13:39][1.1]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:13:40] Yeah. I mean, look, this is what I'm excited about. If I'm buying a ticket to watch the Angels play baseball, I might get a Shohei Ohtani start. But even if I don't get an Ohtani start, I'm going to get to watch him bat four or five times. And you know what else I'm going to get to see? The Tampa Bay Rays. They're really good at baseball. They might make the World Series. I can go watch them play for like $20 because no one's buying tickets to those games in Anaheim. [00:14:02][22.3]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:04] And it's funny, you mentioned Tampa. I feel as though, like just when you compare the two teams, Shohei, the singular entity that has Shohei is way more star power than the entire Tampa Bay Rays roster. [00:14:14][10.5]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:14:15] I don't know, man. Randy Arozarena is a star with a Capital S man. Like that. [00:14:20][4.8]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:20] I feel. [00:14:20][0.3]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:14:21] Is swag. That dude is an all star. [00:14:22][1.6]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:23] He's a If I had to look up the statistics on Jersey sales, I would just say like, what is Shohei Ohtani like total Jersey sales compared to the entire Tampa Bay Rays roster? [00:14:32][8.9]
Kyle Ledbetter: [00:14:32] That is a fair point. I think the at the very least, the top three players on the Tampa Bay Rays, because like Wander, Franco has a relatively popular jersey. So I hear so wander Franco, Randy Arozarena and then pick your third Tampa Bay Rays. I don't know who would be third in that group, but yeah, if you combine those guys, I bet you they're still going to finish behind Shohei Ohtani. [00:14:53][20.7]
Julian Martinez: [00:14:56] All right, guys. Well, the Shohei Ohtani story continues to go on in Anaheim for at least a couple more months. Was this a horrible, no good, bad decision by angels ownership in the front office? We'd like to hear your thoughts in the comments section. We would like in the video subscribe to the channel balls on all our social media is from Juju and Kyle. Stay safe, happy and healthy. We will see you next time. [00:14:56][0.0]
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